Duran Duran Toast to the Glamour of ‘Rio,’ 30 Years Later

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Thirty years ago, Duran Duran set the pop charts alight with their sempiternal summer hit, "Rio." Aside from bringing an accessible take on the New Romantic movement to the bedroom stereos of teenage girls, the song's music video is also the British act's most iconic aesthetic moment, bringing together the soon-to-be ubiquitous MTV paragon of rock stars, supermodels and yachts for the first time. (It also features an excellent sax solo on a makeshift raft.) Filmed by Russell Mulcahy (who also directed their "Hungry Like The Wolf" clip) in 1982, on the famous Eilean ketch in Antigua, "Rio" is part of the band's Grammy-winning "travelogue" series that established them as music video pioneers during MTV's salad days. It also sees the Duran boys decked out in swanky Antony Price suits, a testament to the power of pastel-charged androgyny in early Eighties fashion. Overall, a collision of style and sound worth commemorating in 2012.

Built in 1936, the Eilean ketch sadly fell into disuse in later years but has recently been bought and resurrected by Italian luxury watch brand, Panerai. After three years of restoration, Eilean is happily back at home in Antigua, where she competed in the country's Classic Yacht Regatta on April 24th. In celebration, Panerai nabbed Duran Duran to take part in the festivities, engineering a glamorous visual flashback moment for Duran Duran fans, Regatta enthusiasts, and those who appreciate the finer things in life.

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